French Open finalist Anastasia Myskina believes the years of sacrifice when she was growing up in Moscow have finally paid off as she prepares to take on compatriot Elena Dementieva for the supreme clay-court title on Saturday.
”We trained from eight in the morning until eight at night and then went home and studied until midnight. It was pretty easy,” said the 22-year-old as she recalled her childhood spent training with lifelong friend Dementieva at the Spartak club.
”We trained, played, did drills, served, ran, everything. We had a great time. There were 10 to 15 of us and we had a lot of fun. Time went really quickly.”
Both girls grew up under the watchful eyes of coach Rausa Islanova, the mother of former world men’s number one and US Open winner Marat Safin.
”She was a tough coach and she pushed us all of the time and it’s because of her that we are here today.”
Myskina also revealed that her and Dementieva’s competitive edge developed when they were youngsters in Moscow.
”We played on court and then fought off it. I would complain she was cheating because there was no chair umpire and she would do the same,” said the 22-year-old.
”We have grown up together and it’s awesome that we are still together and have reached this point.” — Sapa-AFP